New Delhi: Recently, in the December 2023 assembly elections in Telangana, Congress made a strong comeback by winning 64 seats and forming the government in Telangana on its own.
But now will Congress be able to repeat its performance in the assembly elections in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections? This news is also going on in Telangana that the current Congress government wants to include the MLAs of the main opposition party BRS in the Congress.
Telangana Chief Minister and Congress leader Revanth Reddy launched the Lok Sabha election campaign from Indervalley village in Adilabad on Friday, February 2. Even after the Congress’s surprise comeback in the assembly elections held in December 2023, there is a lot at stake for the party.
In the assembly elections, Congress won 64 seats and Bharat Rashtra Samiti under the leadership of K Chandrashekhar Rao stood second with 39 seats. The Congress government is not much above the majority mark, due to which there is always a situation of instability.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has changed sides and joined BJP. After that, there remains a challenge for Congress in Telangana also.
Parliamentary elections will also prove to be a litmus test for BRS. Elections across the country are turning into a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress-led opposition. A regional party like BRS will need a big victory to survive, especially amid speculations that the Congress is planning ‘defections’ to bring it to its fold.
Are some BRS MLAs going to join the Telangana Congress?
The news that some BRS MLAs in Telangana may join the Congress got further impetus when on January 3, four BRS MLAs from the erstwhile Medak district of the state – Sunita Lakshma Reddy (Narsapur), K Prabhakar Reddy (Dubbaka), G Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), and Manik Rao (Zaheerabad) – paid a “courtesy call” to CM Revanth Reddy.
BRS MLA Prakash Goud (Rajendra Nagar) met with Chief Minister @revanth_anumula Garu at his residence. pic.twitter.com/tADeD42uyc
— Sama Ram Mohan Reddy (@RamMohanINC) January 28, 2024
This has given rise to speculations that Congress is in “talks” with BRS MLAs to include them in the party. This is important because the Medak region is considered a stronghold of BRS.
Recently, on January 28, BRS MLA from Rajendranagar Prakash Gaur met Revanth Reddy, during which he was made to wear a Kanduva (with theess’ colours on it. He also got photographed wearing Kanduwa.
After this, BRS MLAs clarified that they had met the CM for funds and issues related to their respective constituencies.
Senior journalist and political analyst R Prithvi Raj told The Quint that such meetings create the impression that BRS MLAs want to join Congress, but in practice, the anti-defection law will prevent them from doing so.
According to the law, if two-thirds of the MLAs of a party join another party, it will be considered a merger. In other words, for the merger to happen legally, at least 26 BRS MLAs (out of 39) will have to collectively join the Congress.
What is the significance of the BRS MLAs meeting with Telangana CM?
Many political experts believe that this meeting may have more to do with the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections to be held on February 27 than the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Three Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant in Telangana, till now all these seats were held by BRS. However, after the assembly elections of December 2023, the equations have changed. In the current situation, Congress can easily win two out of three Rajya Sabha seats and BRS can win one seat. But if Congress succeeds in getting cross-voting done with the support of some BRS MLAs, which is possible as there is a secret voting in Rajya Sabha elections, then Congress can also win the third Rajya Sabha seat.
Congress has only 64 seats in the assembly, but if some MLAs join BRS then the government may fall. Revanth Reddy would like to save it at all costs and hence he will try to get the support of opposition MLAs. can do.
changing narrative in telangana?
At a meeting on January 30, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) left it to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to choose its candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. It was also proposed in the meeting that if AICC leader Sonia Gandhi ever decided to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from Telangana, the party would make it a unanimous victory.
It should be noted that before the assembly elections, Congress had argued that the credit for the formation of Telangana state should be given to Sonia Gandhi and not BRS.
BJP factor in Telangana:
Revanth Reddy has decided to launch his election campaign from Indravelli, where the police opened fire on a group of tribals during the land rights movement in 1981. This is politically significant, as Adilabad is one of the erstwhile districts where BJP has a strong presence.
Congress was in power when the firing took place. Speaking about the incident on Friday, the CM said: “Apology for past mistakes has already been sought. Sonia Gandhi aimed to correct the historical mistakes committed during the rule of Seemandhra rulers in the united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Has been given the status of state.”
Congress is confident that it can win 12 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats, out of which it had won three seats in the last Lok Sabha elections.
